A Pre-Post Study of the Impact of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Termination on TPS Holders and Their Employers

Co-funded with the Carnegie Corporation

Since 1990, the U.S. has granted a form of humanitarian relief called Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to immigrants when their home countries experience natural disasters, armed conflicts, or other circumstances making them unsafe. TPS offers work authorization and protection from deportation, with the requirement to renew every six to 18 months. Reversing prior practice, the Trump administration has announced that it will no longer extend TPS for most beneficiaries. The cancellation of TPS would be the first time that the U.S. has removed legal protections from so many people since the 1960s.

Social demographers Julia Gelatt and Jeanne Batalova will study the transition of TPS holders from their current legal status (which grants them work permits and protection from deportation) to unauthorized status and examine the effects on the economic and social integration of TPS holders and on employers of TPS holders. Their study will focus on Salvadorans and Haitians who differ in racial and ethnic backgrounds and in terms of their U.S. residence. They will also incorporate differences in state and local policies by studying TPS holders living in more supportive policy environments (Maryland and New York) and less supportive ones (Virginia and Florida). Finally, they will examine how employers and local economies with many TPS holders adapt.

RSF

RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal of original empirical research articles by both established and emerging scholars.